Fluid control valve system

ABSTRACT

A fluid control valve system such as a water valve is disclosed. The fluid valve includes a body including a central cavity of which the upper portion is opened, a fluid inlet and an outlet communicating with the central cavity, a cap acting as a grip for closing the central cavity of the valve body and for performing relative movement with respect to the central cavity, and an opening and closing unit which is provided in the central cavity so as to be mediated and pressed or rotated by the movement of the cap, and of which one side is contacted or contacted/separated from the inlet. Compared with the conventional fluid valve, the elements are reduced in numbers and simplified in view of designing and manufacturing thereof. Thus, the production cost is reduced. Also, in case of forming a cap which is connected with the valve body of a transparent material, the interior of the valve can be easily seen and the cleanness of the valve inside and the checking of the wear or breakage can be easily recognized.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fluid control valve system, and moreparticularly, to a fluid control tap whose structure is simplified andimproved and which allows the flowing state of fluid to be observed.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a fluid control tap used, for instance, as a cock such asthat for water or gas, functions to permit or block the flow of a fluidand to control the flow amount thereof.

A conventional fluid control tap includes (1) a main body portion forproviding a space through which fluid flows, (2) a control portionhaving a valve which operates by a medium for controlling fluid flowingthrough the main body, (3) an assembly portion for coupling the controlportion to the main body, and (4) a grip for operating the controlportion. Since such a conventional tap includes many components andrequires a positive and secure assembly between the main body and theassembly portion, and the manufacture thereof difficult and complicated.Such a tap also increases the production cost. Moreover, it is not easyfor the average user to disassemble the tap for repair.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a tap in a conventional fluidcontrol valve system.

In this conventional fluid control tap, a body 1 hollowed such thatfluid may flow therethrough and having a cylindrical portion 1c directedupward, includes an inlet 1a for receiving water from a water pipeline2, and an outlet 1b for discharging water having passed through body 1.A first female threaded portion 1d and a first male threaded portion 1eare provided on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces ofcylindrical portion 1c, respectively. A sealing cover 7 having a skirt7a on whose inner surface a second female threaded portion 7b is formedis assembled with the first male threaded portion 1e. An operation pole8 having a male threaded portion 8aformed on the lower outercircumferential surface thereof is connected to the first femalethreaded portion 1d of cylindrical portion 1c. An extended rod 8b ofoperation pole 8 passes through sealing cover 7 and extends on upward tobe connected with a grip 3.

A valve seat 4 extended from inlet 1a and corresponding to operationpole 8 is provided inside body 1 so that a valve 6 pressed or releasedby operation pole 8 is located between valve seat 4 and operation pole8. The valve is coupled to the lower portion of supporting rod 6aloosely fitted into the body of male screw portion 8a of operation pole8. A packing 9 is interposed between cylindrical portion 1c and sealingcover 7 so as to prevent fluid leakage. Here, operation pole 8 andsupporting rod 6a act as the medium enabling the operation of valve 6.

In such a water valve, being a typical and basic structure of theconventional tap, it is, however, difficult to manufacture the tap (orcock) due to the numerous necessary components and complicated interiorconfiguration thereof, as detailed above, and the average user finds itdifficult to disassemble the apparatus for any reason. Furthermore, thestructure of the conventional tap as above is generally made of anopaque material such that potentially malfunctioning internal portionscannot be seen while assembled.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Therefore, in order to solve such problems, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a fluid control valve system whosestructure is simplified for easy manufacture and processing, repairingis facilitated, and the production cost is low.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid valvesystem having various structures and is a high-value product, in whichthe flowing state of a fluid and potentially malfunctioning internalcomponents can be seen without disassembly.

To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there isprovided a fluid control valve system comprising:

a body including a cavity through which fluid flows, a fluid inlet andan outlet communicating therewith, and an opened portion communicatingwith the cavity;

a cap connected to the opened portion of the body in a watertight mannerand connected to enable a change of a relative position while relativelymoving in the form of an up-down movement, a left-right rotationmovement, an up-down rotation movement, or a combination thereof withrespect to the body according to an operator's manipulation; and

a valve member provided in the cavity, for blocking or opening the flowof fluid and for controlling the amount of flow or mixing fluidsaccording to the relative movement of the cap with respect to the body.

In the fluid control valve system of the present invention, the relativeposition of the cap and body can be varied by the relative movementssuch as up-down movement, left-right rotation, up-down rotation or thecombination thereof in the coupling state of the cap to the body. As aspecific example, the relative position movement between the body andthe cap is made possible in a watertight state, while mutuallycorresponding screw-coupled portions are formed in the body and cap. Thescrew-coupled portions are formed on two cylinders each of which has acorresponding female threaded portion or male threaded portion.

For watertight security, it is preferable that a sealing member beinterposed between the two cylinders. As another example of the body-capcoupling structure, the relative position movement between the body andcap is varied but the corresponding screw-coupled portions are notinterposed therein. Here, in order to guarantee the watertight security,both the body and the cap may be coupled with each other via aninterposed sealing member. In the present invention, differently fromthe conventional tap which performs the watertight function of the tapby interposing the sealing cover, the cap which also plays the role of agrip is directly involved in the watertight security.

The valve member comprises:

a valve seat provided in the cavity and communicating with the inlet;

a valve gate for blocking, permitting, mixing or controlling the flow ofthe fluid while staying in contact with the valve seat or by thecontacting or detaching motion with the valve seat; and

a medium for enabling the position of the valve gate to vary by therelative movement of the cap to the body, or for directly changing theposition of the valve gate.

As a specific example, the medium, made in the form of a plate, rod,ball, column, cylinder, cone, or some combination thereof, and on oneside of which the valve gate corresponding to the valve seat isprovided, is able to perform a mediating motion such as a displacementmovement in which the relative position of the valve gate with respectto the valve seat can be determined while performing up-down movement,left-right rotation, up-down rotation, or the combination thereof,according to the relative movement of the cap with respect to the body.

The valve gate has a structure of blocking, permitting, mixing orcontrolling the flow and amount of fluid while staying in contact withor contacting and detaching the valve seat, the relative position of thevalve seat being varied by mediating movement of the medium and isspecifically provided on one side of the medium by having a shape ofplate, rod, ball, column, cylinder, cone or the combination thereof, orhaving a recess, a through hole, or a fluid mixing space therein, thevalve provided in the middle of a flowing path of fluid and mediated bythe movement of the medium to perform up-down movement, left-rightrotation, up-down rotation or the combination thereof.

The valve seat has a structure of blocking/permitting the flow of thefluid to the outlet, controlling the amount of fluid flow, or mixingfluids at the state of being kept in contact with or contacted and/orseparated from the valve and specifically provided in the middle of thefluid flow path of the cavity, and having a shape corresponding to thevalve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereofwith reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional tap;

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway, sectional view of the conventional tap ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a fluid control tap accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway, sectional view of the fluid control tapaccording to the present invention shown in FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of another embodiment of thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a preferred embodiment of the fluid controltap of the present invention comprises a cylindrical body 10 having botha cavity 40 being a path through which fluid flows between its inlet 12and outlet 13 and an opened portion 41 communicating with cavity 40 andopened outside, a cap 30 screw-coupled to body 10 for relative movementin a state where opened portion 41 is closed to suppress the leakage ofthe fluid, and a valve member 50 located in the middle of the fluidflowing path. Male threads 11a are formed on the outer circumferentialsurface of body 10, with female threads 32a correspondingly formed onthe inner circumferential surface of skirt 32 of cap 30. For awatertight seal between body 10 and cap 30, a sealing member 60 isinterposed between the inner circumferential surface of skirt 32 of cap30 and the outer circumferential surface of opened portion 41 of body10.

The valve member is made up of a valve seat 12a provided in the cavity40, a valve gate 52 contacting or being detached from the valve seat forblocking/opening the flowing path of fluid into cavity 40 so as tocontrol the amount of flow, and a rod 51 acting as the operating mediumand inserted into a supporting tube 31a provided inside cap 30 forsupporting the rod.

Although, in the above structure, it is explained that the skirt 32 ofcap 30 is formed surrounding the exterior of body 10, the skirt 32 ofcap 30 may enter the cavity 40 inside body 10, with the male threadsbeing formed on the outer circumferential surface of skirt 32 and thecorresponding female threads being formed on the inner circumferentialsurface of cavity 40. In this structure, sealing member 60 is interposedbetween the outer circumferential surface of skirt 32 of cap 30 and theinner circumferential surface of opened portion 41 of body 10.

The above-described structure of fluid control tap different from theconventional one is characterized in that opening portion 41 of the bodyis closed by cap 30 acting as a grip so that cavity 40 is isolated fromoutside and that valve member 50 is operated by the rotation of the cap,to thereby enable the cap 30 to be directly involved in the watertightsecurity.

Further, the fluid control tap of the present invention has a simplifiedstructure as compared with the conventional one. Especially, all or partof the cap may be formed of a transparent material so that the cavitycan be viewed from the outside.

Such a tap (cock) of the present invention can be formed differentlyfrom the above embodiment or improved as a further developed structure,on the basis of the fundamental idea of the present invention. It is forthe same reason that the conventional screw-coupled tap, up-downoperating lever grip tap, left-right operating lever grip tap, cool-hotwater mixing tap, and other taps have been modified and developed on thebasis of the essential idea of FIG. 1. Here, although targets ofmodification may be considered in the wide range, they are confined tothe valve member and the connection of the cap with the body in thisembodiment for the convenience of explanation. The two targets to bemodified can be changed individually or in association.

As the cap rotates left and right or up and down with respect to thebody, the cap may rotate simply with respect to the body, or the cap mayrotate relatively thereto involving the change of relative position dueto distance movement. Correspondingly, the interlocking structure of thevalve member, that is, the structure of a medium and the valve gate, isappropriately changed in the form of rod, column, cylinder, cone, ballor sphere. The embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 is an example of very simplestructure of the relatively rotating cap. The embodiment is designed toblock fluid or to control the amount of flow thereof, by pressing orcontacting/detaching the valve gate from the valve seat as both the bodyand the cap operate in the combination of the relative rotation andup-down movement of position by the mutual screw connection. In anothercase, the flow of the fluid can be blocked or opened and the amount offluid can be controlled, by keeping the valve gate pressed and incontact with the valve seat. This can be also accomplished by simplyhaving the cap and body relatively rotate to the left and right or upand down, as in the simply rotating cap.

There is also a case when the cap performs a complex relative movementin which the cap is able to rotate left and right, simultaneously pivotup and down and has a relative distance movement with respect to thebody. This case is frequently used for a tap for blocking/opening ormixing different fluids, e.g., hot water and cool water, or controllingthe flow amount thereof. This modification, whether a simple form orincorporating an additional fluid mixing/controlling valve, iswell-known in the art, and some of its basic technical ideas adaptablein the present invention will be briefly explained.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate another embodiment of the present inventionhaving a modified valve member. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a cavity40' or 40" is disposed between an inlet 12' or 12" and an outlet 13' or13". Valve gate 6' or 6", rotated by the movement of the cap and themediation of the medium and made in a shape of column, cylinder, cone orball, is placed closely adjacent to the valve seat on the side of inlet12' or 12" so that the inflow of the fluid is blocked. Recess 6a' or6a", provided on one side of the valve, is appropriately situated withrespect to the valve seat so as to permit and control the inflow of thefluid. Also, FIG. 5B illustrates another embodiment in which thecoupling of the cap and the body of the valve is modified. In this case,the inner surface of skirt 32" of cap 30 has a form of a sphericalsurface for its left-right and up-down free movement. Sealing members 60are provided between body 10" and cap 30. A separation-preventingmembers 14" and 33" are placed at the end of skirt 32" and at the end ofbody 10", respectively.

The shape, position and direction of the inlet and outlet can be varied.The valve gate can also be varied in connection with the valve seat, byproviding a through hole instead of the recess, providing a space inwhich different fluids are mixed thereinside, or by having fluid flowingthrough the valve gate toward the outlet and not via the cavity of thebody.

Although the above-discussed embodiments are described with a structurehaving one inlet and one outlet, they can be applied to a structurehaving more than one inlet and outlet, respectively. In a structurehaving a plurality of inlets and/or outlets and using one cap, aplurality of the inlets and/or outlets may share one valve seat. In astructure wherein a plurality of caps are used, the inlets maycorrespond to respective caps, or the respective caps may also share onecavity in common. Other variations are also possible.

As described above, various modifications of the present invention arepracticable without limiting the scope of the present invention. Anymodification containing the basic idea of the present invention, inwhich the cavity is closed with a cap serving as a grip and the flow offluid is blocked/permitted or controlled by the relative movement of thecap to the body, belong to the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fluid control valve comprising:a generallycylindrical body having an outer circumferential surface that defines acavity and an open portion of said body through which a fluid flows, afluid inlet opposite said open end and integral with said valve body,said fluid inlet in communication with said cavity and said openportion, a fluid outlet in communication with said open portion and eachother through said cavity, said outer surface of saidcylindrically-shaped body delimiting said opened portion; a cap movablyconnected in a continuous operative fashion to said opened portion ofsaid body, said cap closing said open portion in a watertight manner andmovable in a form selected from the group consisting of an up-downmovement, a left-right rotational movement, an up-down rotationalmovement, and a combination thereof, said movement occurring relative tosaid body and in accordance to an operator's manipulation of said cap;and a valve member provided in said cavity for controlling the flow offluid through said valve according to the relative movement of said capwith respect to said valve body, said valve member comprised of a valvegate and a medium for changing a position of said valve gate relative tosaid valve seat by direct movement of the cap with respect to the body,said medium connected to said cap on one end and to said gate on anotherend, said gate communicating with said seat of said valve inlet, saidvalve member controlling the flow of the fluid by one of remaining incontact with the valve seat and by detaching itself from the valve seatupon direct manipulative movement of the cap with respect to the body soas to block, permit, and mix the flow of the fluid through the valvebody.
 2. The fluid control valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said capis made of a transparent material.
 3. The fluid control valve as claimedin claim 1, wherein said valve gate is a form selected from the groupconsisting of a plate, a rod, a ball, a column, a cylinder, a cone, anda combination thereof.
 4. The fluid control valve as claimed in claim 3,wherein said valve gate further includes one of a recess, a throughhole, and a fluid mixing space therein, and is provided in a middle of aflowing path of the fluid.
 5. The fluid control valve as claimed inclaim 3, wherein said valve seat has a shape corresponding to the valvegate so as to block the flow of the fluid while in contact with thevalve gate and to permit the flow of the fluid in a controlled mannerwhile said valve gate is being separated from said valve seat.